Page tags

A Kumo team is sent up the mountains in search of what is to be believed as "demons".

""Demons" in the Mountains"

Mountains of the Land of Lightning

- It was a tuesday, a rainy tuesday no less, the cold autumn rain falls from the sky, soaking any who venture outside. A strong wind blowing in swirling the air with a wet cold, it was pretty typical mountain weather. A missive had been sent very selectively to the homes of Yotsuki Nariko and Iwata Michiko with the usual instructions; Meanwhile in the Saito Village, Tobei would also receive a missive informing him of a training exercise and that he should prepare himself and his gear and meet at the front gate as his earliest available time.
Meanwhile at the front gate, the cloaked Hiroyasu stands under an awning, his stalwart steed hoofing the ground beside him. "Wonderful Weather, eh Jinx?" he says looking at a horse who doesn't respond and he shrugs.. "Just thought I'd make conversation while we waited" he says before looking the other way.. uh oh trouble at home between them. -

After receiving a missive from her dear friend, was the young and talented Yotsuki known as Nariko. She had gone to the stables to get her loyal and ever beautiful horse known as Stormshadow. She wore her usual rain outfit and even gave Stormshadow something similar. She looked at Stormshadow and smiled. "Ready for an adventure?" The horse whinnied back as she arrived at the gate. "Hey Hiro, Jinx not feeling so hot?" She tilted her head and smiled, hoping it wasn't a bad thing.

Michiko was training by her house when she got the message to meet up at the front gate as soon as possible. In almost no time, she grabbed her stuff, though it really isn't that much, and zipped off to the village entrance. She's wearing her usual gear plus a cloak to battle the wet and cold weather. Unlike her senpai, she has no horse companion to ride with. Upon arriving, she takes a second to catch her breath, as she was winded from the training and sprint. "Hiro-san, good day. I hope you're doing well?" she asks with a slight tilt of her head. "And Nariko-sensei, too," she adds, giving the Yotsuki a smile.

Tobei was at his home sitting on the roof that he wasnt allowed to be on. He was sitting under a small roof that extended from the second story floor with his back against the house and a harmonica in his hands. He brings it up to his mouth and goes to blow just as the second story window next to flings open. "Tobei!" The boy's harmonica goes flying out of his hands and tumbles down the roof until it slides off and lands in the mud down below. "I told you not to be out here on the roof! Now get inside before you catch a cold! I don't know why you refuse to wear a shirt or even shoes. It's the middle of autumn and winter is around the corner."
Tobei frowns as he turns to step into the window, "But I feel better when I-"
"I don't want to hear it. Put on a shirt and your boots. You got a message from your sensei. I'm sure its another mission so make sure youre well prepared."
Tobei's mood changes as he snatches the missive from his mother's hands and tears it open. His mother just smiles and leaves his room so that he can pack.
Tobei then shows up with a shirt on, his boots on, and a pack over his back just as everyone else gets to the gate. "Heyo Goat-sensei" Tobei says as he waves at Hiro. He then meets Michiko with a smile and wave then turns to Nariko. "Oh, Nariko-sama is coming too?" He asks looking back at Hiro for comfirmation. He looks back at Nariko while she is on her horse and bows. "I am Saito Tobei. Im honored to finally meet you in person, Nariko-sama." The boy continues to stand in the rain as if he isnt bothered by it.

- Hiroyasu waves to Nariko, then looks at his horse when he is asked. "She's crabby, its cold and rainy. She wanted to stay in the stable and nap I think." he says rubbing the muzzle on his horse, "I think she'll be fine once her and stormshadow can open up and feel the call of the road under hoof. She's spoiled.." he says with a shrug before waving to Michiko "Greetings Michiko! Thank you for coming." following up the rear was his pupil, "Yo Tobei-san!" he says before nodding to everyone. "Well thank you all for coming, We have been asked to go out into the mountains to the north-east.. apparently deep in the mountains, a once safe road has been treacherous with rockfalls, and 'demons' of some sort. This is pretty much one of main roads to an from the Yamayuki terroritory.. They needed smaller groups to wind the narrows roads and the other Sensei's have too many students to keep track of.. and for other reasons.." he says looking to the side. "Questions? As always you may choose your form of transportation.. Tobei; You can ride with me.. or Nariko if michiko decides to travel on her own" he didn't mean to volunteer Nariko just present the Genin with options. -

Nariko smiled at Michiko when she arrives, bowing politely to her. "Hello Michiko, I am doing well and I hope you are as well." Then Tobei shows up and she blinks, but then oohs when she hears his name. "Riight, you're Hiro's student. Hello Tobei. I hope he hasn't told you to shake off your hair, he might." She winks and then turns to Hiro. "Cause you don't show her how to enjoy the rain like I showed Stormshadow." She sticks her tongue out at him. "And don't force your hair choice onto your student, that is a bad thing." She snickers a moment and then quiets herself when he begins detailing their mission. "Well, I guess I have one question, when you say "demons" do we know if they're just animals with issues or something the Gods have brought forth to this road?"

Michiko nods to the question, smiling a bit. "Ah, I'm well, thank you, Nariko-sensei." She listens curiously to Hiro as he speaks about the task at hand, head tilting slightly. "Demons? That's interesting…" she murmurs. Tobei arrives and she gives him a slight bow in greeting. "Hello, Tobei-san. I hope you're well?" She hmms… "I think I'll travel on my own, so Tobei-san can choose to ride with either you or Nariko-sensei, Hiro-san."

"Demons. I cant wait!" Tobei says while cracking his knuckles. As he does the chains around his forearms jingle. "Whoa, wait. My hair?!" He rubs his hands through his soaked hair while looking on at Hiro in horror. "But, I like my hair." His attention turns to Michi when she mentions his riding options. "Why does she get to travel alone and I dont?" He says wrinkling his nose. "I'm a big kid too." He says putting his hands on his hips and wrinkling his nose.

- Hiroyasu raises a finger, "That's all the request said, as you know people are always calling everything evil spirits and demons when they don't know or can't explain it. Its usually bandits using disguises to pray on superstition, or wild animals. People hear a growl and suddenly its a demon trying to eat their soul.. I've never actually seen a real demon and not sure anyone has for a hundred years or more.." he shrugs before moving to leap on the back on his horse. "She's just spoiled, once we get moving and she gets warm she'll stop with the complaining eyes." then nods to Tobei "If you are bad student, you may have to go around bald until you learn.." he was just continuing the tease from nariko. "I said you could choose, I just made sure you knew that was an option." he puts a hand on his face for a moment, before the horse underneath him begins to move onward. "We need to be going, its several hours down narrow mountain trails and twists." as the horse is slowly making its way to the gate. "So decide so we can go" and with that he continues moving on to their objective. -

Nariko looks to Michiko and nods. "IF you get tired Michiko you're welcome to join me. Maybe when we get back I'll arrange a gift for you. Especially since you're a lion tamer now." She winks and chuckles before looking at Tobei. "Then don't misbehave." She chuckles climbing onto Stormshadow, him whinnying as she does so. She leans forward and whispers. "Shhh, I'm not fat. Just for that, no brushings or sugar for a week." That shut him up. She looks to Hiro and nods. "As for spirits, well, to each their own. I did hear a rumor when I was little a spirit terrified a family back in the Land of Tea, but then they moved away. Don't know whatever happened to them or the spirit." It was probably just a tale to keep her from asking too many questions about a family. She looks to Michiko and Tobei. "Lets make a decision and head out."

Michiko laughs softly at Tobei's reaction and gives him a light poke in the arm. "As mentioned, it is only an option, Tobei-san. You're free to traverse by foot." Her attention goes back to Hiro while he answers Nariko. "Well, we shall see what the demons are soon, I imagine!" she seems excited and very ready to go. Very casually, she reaches to tie her headband just a bit tighter and also lifts the hood on her cloak to cover her head. At least for the beginning of the trip. It was going to fall off eventually. "Thank you for the offer, Nariko-sensei. I shall keep it in mind." A slight tilt of her head and she echoes, "A gift? I'm hardly a lion tamer, though…" and starts to follow Hiro.

"Oh man. Ok, I'll be a good boy." Tobei says as he looks between Hiro and Nariko. He was still pretty worried about his hair at this point.
He looks back at Michi and gives her a nod. "Then in that case I will just hang back with Michiko-san and keep her company." He whispers to her. "I want to hear about you being a lion tamer." He tightens the straps of his pack and pulls on the collar of his shirt that shows he is feeling a bit uncomfortable with it on. Once he felt that he was good and adjusted he gives a thumbs up. "Alright, we're all good here!"

- It was a several hour trip down the frightfully narrow and at times ill-maintained roads, it would give sights of beautiful vistas, dangerous gorges, barren mountains and lush forest already draped in the white veil of early snow. On the road ahead, a giant pile of rocks blocking the path, Hiroyasu on the back of his horse slowly edges to a stop. "We need to clear the path and see why there are rockslides.." he says moving to dismount his horse and look around. "No signs of demons yet.." he says rubbing the back of his head. -

Nariko follows Hiro through the winding road. As he slows down to a stop so does she and she slides off Stormshadow. "Stay." She points at him, eyeing him. She started to help heave rocks away from the path and tried to see the reasoning for them. "Well, there are some strange markings on them, which is weird. How could rocks get markings like these?" She tilts her head and looks up. "And they don't seem loose so there has to be something at work here."

"Ah, Sado-kun, Ai-san, and I were sent to the mountains to help a shepherd and his family. Two lions were there eating all their sheep, so us genin had to drive them off. Sado-kun accidentally killed the male, but the female got a way with only some scratches and a few burns between myself and Ai-san," Michiko tells Tobei while they travel, using the earth beneath her to try and find any nearby suspicious things. "I don't sense anything weak in the mountains… So whatever those markings are, it's likely signs that people are causing them to roll down like that." she adds, going to help Nariko clear the way.

"Oh man. You got to take on lions?! I'm pretty jealous." Tobei says running his hand through his soaked hair to get his bangs out of his face. "This is my first mission since I've been sick."
At that moment everyone is halted and Tobei notices a rockslide holding them up. He walks up to the rubble and begins helping with the move. As he does so he notices the same markings Nariko does. "From the books I read demons just dont appear, they are summoned. So that's what these could be." The young Saito stops moving the boulders for a moment and gets a strange wiff of something. "I smell…something burning. Or, something that has been burned recently."

- Hiroyasu looks at the rocks after Nariko and Tobei both point out the visual marks and the smell as they move some of the rocks.. "I see that.. and I kind of smell it too.. you think it was flash powder.." he says helping them move some of the rocks.. to the side. "It looks like tool marks?" he asks before raising an eyebrow. "Michiko.. can you scale that cliff and see if you see something to explain this.." he asks before looking at nariko to make sure her blessing was part of it. -

Nariko looks to Hiro and nods. She takes a moment to survey the area once more and hmms. "Well, there is no form of genjutsu in this area. One would think if it's spirits or something someone might use to make people perceive spirits." She rubs her chin and then looks to the marks. "Maybe a tool to pry the rocks off the mountain?" She hmms a moment. "But that is weird." She tilts her head and continues to drag rocks off the path.

Michiko nods to Hiro and moves to climb up the rocks, scanning the area for any signs of people or animals that may be around causing the boulders to roll and blockade their path. "I don't see an-" she starts to call out, pausing when something catching her eye. "It looks like there's a hole on the side of the mountain! And there's some tools as well, Hiro-san!" she calls back.

Tobei stops to examine one boulder. He looks up as he hears Michi's voice calls out about a hole being in the side of mountain and tools being there. Looking back at the boulder something clicks. "Hiro-, er Goat-Sensei. It looks like these rocks were blown up by something…or someone." He says holding the boulder up to Hiro to see. "Could it be that the demon thing is all a ruse and someone just wants to keep people off the trail up ahead?"

- Hiroyasu nods to Nariko "Good, never should discount it being an illusion." as Michiko is climbing the cliff he makes several handseals and several of the larger rocks begins to melt and mold into a retaining wall and a neat little path of road amongst miles of rough road. "Oh.. like digging kind?" then when Tobei gives him the news about the rocks looking like they were intentionally blasted. "Since you didn't detect anyone and there doesn't seem to any camp up there.. I am betting it was prospectors trying to strike it rich and when their careless blast blocked the road they fled? why would someone leave valuable tools just laying around right?" he asks questioningly before shouting up to Michiko "Does it look like anyone has been up there recently? If not come on down.. the road is clear and we need to move on" he says moving to get back on the back of his horse and continue down the road. -

Nariko continues to move rocks out of the way as she listens to Hiro and Michiko as they talk about tools. "Maybe they found nothing and abandoned their stuff instead of hauling their stuff back." She shrugged. "It's not unusual in my opinion."

Michiko slides down the rocks and lands amongst her friends. "Unless they are aiming to return later, I didn't see anyone else." she reports. "Nariko-sensei's assessment sounds about right, at least."

"Before we continue on…" Tobei says as he drops his pack from his back. He then slides each boot off and pulls his shirt over and off his body. "That feels much better." His toes wiggle on the dirty path. "I was getting hot with all that stuff on." He turns and puts his shirt and boots in his pack then throws his pack back over his shoulders. "Alright, lets move out." He says as he steps off while he tightens up the straps around his shoulders.

- It was alittle later down the road when the demonic sounding growls begin to echo off the rocks growing ever louder as they move down the trail, eventually the horses refuse to go any further and start to shy, reject, and neglect the wishes of their riders with loud whinnies and hoof stamping. "What is that?!" he says getting off his horse which didn't seem to want to continue anyways. "Everyone be on guard, we don't know what that is.." he says reaching into his cloak for his seal pouch. Hiroyasu pauses "Ands let not try to destroy the only good road if possible. I don't want to have to rebuild it" he says with a frown as his attention is turned to the Echoes from down the path. -

Nariko's horse stops and she pets the head. "Woah boy, it's okay." She tries to calm it down a moment. She tries to look ahead for whatever the noise could be, and then she smiles. "It's my kinsmen! Well, not literally, but that is the sound of a bear. And we might want to be a little careful up ahead, it looks to be a curve of some sort."

Michiko blinks when Tobei removes his shirt, but otherwise makes no comment. It was a preference thing, after all. She mostly looked around while following the horses, pausing when they start to sense something. She frowns, stopping beside the horses, and looks around carefully, drawing a Kunai as well. She even taps into the earth to see if she can sense any people or animals around. "At least we're not completely helpless if we wanted to fix the road…" she comments. "And it's a very large bear just around the curve, it feels like."

"A bear?" Tobei scratches the back of his head. "Wait. how are they kin—nevermind. Let's go check it out." The young Saito says as he continues walking ahead whether or not anyone else follows him. "You got to fight off a lion, now im going to wrestle a bear if I have to." He says calling back to Michiko.

- Hiroyasu cups his hand to whisper to Tobei "Remember I told you to be way of bears in short shorts.." he says pointing at Nariko hiding it behind his hand. "A bear? that explains why it doesn't really any chakra… I was skeptical it was a demon.." as he says that the bear comes around the corner and starts to charge at the group of shinobi the horses which spook which is hard thing for a warhorse trained steed to do start to turn tail and run. "I'll get the horses! Tobei you need to do what Nariko tells you and for that matter Michiko.. they are both seasoned and I trust them" he says patting the Genin on the shoulder as he chases against the horses trying to weave seals as he chases after them at full speed.. in the distance you can hear the sudder of earth and sound of earth jutsu as he tries to coral the horses.
Meanwhile back in the thick of things, the bear is charging headlong at the group, foam escaping from his mouth in copious amounts as it seems well intent on doing them all great harm.. before you can say anything its making swipes at the Shinobi. -

When the bear comes for Nariko and the other two genin, Nariko is apparently thrown from her horse and falls on her rear end. She sighs and gets up off the ground, moving so the bear goes trough a cloud of smoke. She moves far enough away to make sure she tries to make eye contact with it, attempting to make it think metal chains had wrapped itself around it's legs and body holding it still. She walked up to it and threw a forceful punch to it's shoulder.

"Nariko-san is often called a bear, I believe? Much like I say I'm a fox," Michiko tells Tobei, watching as her fellow genin decides to go and get some bear-wrestling in. It was at that moment the beast makes its appearance, causing Michiko to sigh. "I'm starting to think there's a zoo in Kumo that isn't doing its job…" she mutters. To Hiro, she calls "Good luck, Hiro-san! We'll take care of the bear before you get back!" A claw comes down at her, raking the genin down her side. The Iwata disappears in a puff of smoke, though, as thankfully it was only a clone. Michiko takes this chance to get behind the bear and send several firebolts towards its midsection (and not at her sensei!).

Tobei leaps out of the way with the bear clawing at his after images. He watches as the girls pour their attacks on the bear then he gets a crazy idea. With the bear distracted by Michi's fire, Tobei uses that to his advantage to leap in and attempt to sweep out the beast's legs. Whether or not it connected, Tobei flips up with his metal chains unraveled from his hands and in one fluid motion latches himself onto the back of the bear with the chain around the bear's neck. "Calm down, big guy!" Tobei laughs. "I'll take you to a good home and take good care of you." It seems as if Tobei was seriously trying to tame the rabid beast.

- The attacks from the shinobi seems to be meet with a careless indifference, a blood-lust which seems to ignore many of the attacks which bounce off its thickened hide. The bear stumbles to come to terms when the Witch herself has it thrown into the confusion of being bound by chain before sending a hard punch right into his joint sending a resounding crack and thud as her heavy hit impacts.. then the fur of the bear is burnt from its flesh with the smell of burnt hair filling the area by the end of it, the bear is snarling and whining as its thick trunk like fore legs are sweep out from under it and he falls on its chin and a chain is wrapped around his neck and he rocks back and forth snarling the foam leaking from its mouth is stained red with its blood. "Raaaaaaawr.. woooo… raaaawwwwr" it cries as it attempts to stand and shake the shinobi off its back raising to its hind legs and teetering close to the ledge. -

Nariko looks at Tobei as he climbs on top of it. "You are not taking this bear home. It will run rampent in the streets and I for one, can only stand it happening once. And even that elk had to die." Then the claw comes at her and as much as she would have liked to stick around and get a cool looking scar, only a cloud like form of her gets the cool scar. She appears in front of it and looks at Tobei. "You can ride a horse." She says as she charges her arm up with lightning to strike it twice in the head.

Michiko reacts with slightly widened eyes and a look to Tobei that is obviously a question of his sanity. She could at least give him that he was very cra- err… brave. "Tobei-san, I don't think taking a bear home would be met with much approval, she comments, dancing back and letting the bear take a mouthful of earth as opposed to her head. Being a headless horseman doesn't appeal to the genin right now, sorry bear! Nariko's blows to its head looks like a finisher, so she doesn't bother wasting more attacks on it.

Tobei holds onto the chain around the bear with all his might, but his might just isnt good enough. The bear manages to fling the young Saito off. Unfortunately, Tobei was too close to the cliff's edge initially and now finds himself in free fall as he plummets through the sky on his way to his final resting spot. "Aaaaaah! Not good!"

- The bear attempts to strike out at the people hurting it, even if it didn't really to react to their strikes. Its thick hide proves difficult for the first strike of the Yotsuki to hit true.. but her second strike finding the proverbial soft-spot sends a jolt of electricity through the head of the bear.. its eyeballs sizzling as smoke escapes it eyelids as they shut for the last time and there is sudden and loud shudder on the earth as the massive mound of muscle slams into the ground in a heap of dead weight.
"I SAID STOP!!! ~STOP~ ~STOP~ ~STOP~" echoes off the mountains in the voice of Hiroyasu is heard in the distance still trying to get ahold of the horses who had so far been the bane of his existence outsmarting him rising stone columns and leaping over his obstacles.. finally he was able to get them to slow down and grabbed a hold of their reins and is leading them back the sound of the hooves just around the bend behind them. -

Nariko was watching everything, but she wasn't going to be quick enough to catch Tobei, her head whipped around to look to Michiko. "Michiko, get Tobei." She looks to Tobei. "We're coming to get you." Then she hears the echoes of Hiro. She puts her fingers in her mouth, sending out a high pitched shrill to call the horses back. Once Stormshadow hears the whistle and starts to run back towards Nariko, like a well trained steed. That might be spoiled by his owner.

Michiko can at least avoid the weak strikes of the bear with ease. Somehow Tobei gets thrown off and away from the edge, and Michiko springs into action before her sensei even says anything. The seals needed take a second to go through and she stomps on the ground, causing it to shoot out and envelop Tobei in a relatively soft earth wall that doesn't crumble as soon as he hits. "Got him…" she sighs in relief, now in a kneeling position. She keeps her chakra flowing into the earth until Tobei is safely with the group.

The earthern barrier catches Tobei. However, he landed on the piece of earth pretty hard on his shoulder so when he goes to stand up his cups his good hand over injured shoulder. Fonrtunately it wasnt injured enough for Tobei to scale the rest of the cliff side until he was back on the same level as the rest of the group. "Man. That was fun." He says while catching his breath. His gaze lingers over to the downed bear and a sad expression comes over his face. "Aww, I wanted to show the bear off to my clan. Then ride it through out the village."
Tobei then looks over to Michiko and smiles. "Aww, Michiko-san you saved my life. How can I ever repay you?" He asks while jokingly giving the girl googly eyes and grinning real big.

- Hiroyasu was on his way back after his harrowing chase down the narrow paths as he is about to turn the corner the whistle from Nariko sends Stormshadow into a quick bolt with the young goat still wrapped up in the webbing that he was using to hold the horse.. being dragged down the path saying "No,No,No… owowowowowooow" he says kicking his feet against the ground trying not to end up a goaty pancake.. "Beariko!!! Why did you do.. this to meeeeh!" he shouts as he kicks off the ground wrapping around the neck of the horse clinging on like a leech as the horse come to a sudden stop he slams into the ground with ooff.. "… oh my lungs.." he wheezes rolling up to see the cloudy sky.. -

Nariko gives the two genin a thumbs up for the way Michiko saves Tobei. "Nice job. I'll buy you a treat when we get back to the village. Nice save." She then looks to Tobei and eyes him. "Really? He would've died then too. Have you ever heard of the time an elk ran through the village center and destroyed the kebob stand?" She then hears her faithful stead dragging Hiro along with him and smiles. "I didn't know you were still holding on to him." She smirks and chuckles, feeling slightly bad. "You could have let go you know." She winks and then walks up to Stomshadow to pet it's muzzle. "Good boy." She whisers, giving him a sugar cube. She looks to Hiro. "You okay by the way?" She does slightly care.

"Maybe buy me a book or fifty? I suppose if that's a bit out of your price range… Then don't try to ride any more large animals that have yet to be tamed?" Michiko suggests to Tobei, shooing away his expression via punch in the arm. She seems deadly serious about her requests, though. Hiro comes along, dragged by Stormshadow, and Michiko gives him a small smile. "Welcome back, Hiro-san. I did say we would take care of the bear before you returned!" She goes over to him and gives his arm a tug to help him get up.

"Ow." Tobei says after the punch in the arm. "I've got a better idea than books." He says eyeing the bear. "Plus, how else are you suppose to tame an untamed animal? One day ima get me a bear." With that said, the young Saito stands up and makes his way over to the bear's corpse. "Goat-sensei, stop playing around and come help me, will ya?" He kneels down next to the bear and pulls out a kunai. Whether or not Hiro comes to help, Tobei begins skinning the bear the best he can with a kunai.

- Hiroyasu glares at Nariko as she rewards her horse and chides him.. "My hand was stuck.." he says as his own horse arrives having followed stormshadow.. just at her own leisurely pace.. he reaches up and takes Michiko's hand and gets to his feet. "Thank you Iwata-san" he says rubbing his robe off giving Nariko the terribly cold stare.. before it broken as he looks at Tobei with a sigh.. "Let me do that.. you do know its rabid right.. you don't want to nick yourself or touch anything and get it.. the cure is painful.. its like letting Michiko and Nariko take turns pummeling you in the gut like 30 times.. expect their fists would be giant needles.." he says looking around and pulling out paper seal that he uses to slice the thick hide with ease, paper is mighter than steel in the right hand.. and a little bit of chakra doesn't hurt. -

Nariko looks at him like she had no idea why she was getting stared at. "Well, you shouldn't hold onto it like that." She sicks her tongue out at then looks to Tobei. She doesn't say anything and then looks to Michiko before looking back to Hiro. She moves to jump on the horse and looks to the group. "Well, whenever you guys are ready to move out I think we should. Don't want to linger too long, right?"

"A book is perfectly fine, Tobei-kun. The more the better!" Michiko nods to Hiro, laughing at his explanation of rabies cure. "Ah, yes. we ought to get moving, Nariko-sensei. Staying around might invite more unwelcome beasts!"

"Good point." Tobei says as he backs away to let Hiro finish the skinning process. "Don't forget the head." He says pointing down at the bear. "Eww, so much blood." He says still staring down at the bear. Its only when Nariko speaks out to them, that Tobei looks back in their direction. "Oh yea, one sec!" Tobei waits around until Hiro finishes the skinning process then together he walks back with his sensei. "I think this time ill ride back with you, Hiro-er Goat-Sensei."

- Hiroyasu sighs taking the several minutes it takes the skilled surgeon and avid hunter to skin the bear before rolling up the skin. "No, if you want this you will carry it back.. I'm not letting this diseased thing touch Jinx until its been properly tanned.." he looks at Michiko "could you incinerate the body.. just an earthen box.. and some fire jutsu if you could ladies.. we can't let this diseased corpse spread it to the wolves or other scavengers on the mountain.." he says handing the nearly 30lb hide to the Genin. "Your trophy.." he says before weaving some seals and encasing the corpse in stone-columns which form a tight column with a small at the bottom and top.. "If you could" he says to the two fiery Kunoichi. -

Nariko sits on her horse as she waits for Hiro and his student. Then Hiro asks for the bear to be burned more. She gives a slight shrug and nods to Michiko. "You heard him." She smiles and sends a few flares of fire towards the bear to help set it ablaze. "Michiko, do you want to walk back or would you like a ride?"

Michiko stares at Tobei for a moment, wondering why he would want to take the bear hide back. Well, trophies are trophies, and it could be worse… "Of course, Hiro-san!" she replies brightly, forming a few seals with her hands and sending some fire at the now-enclosed corpse. "That should do it. Umm… I think I'm alright to walk back, Nariko-sensei. Thank you, though!" She gives the Yotsuki a bow and a smile.

"Fine, fine." Tobei says as he takes the rolled fur from Hiro. He looks back as the ladies set the rest of the bear ablaze for a few moments then turns to make his way down the trail. "Dinner is on Goat-sensei tonight!" Tobei says as he picks up his pace so that he doesnt give the Jounin a chance to dispute it.